Must the breeds be in pairs?

Hello! I read the "mixing breeds" thread already, but it didn't quite answer my breed question because they had more than one of each breed.
I'm getting ready to order our chicks and we are first timers at this. We're getting 8 chicks for egg laying. My question for the chicken pros here is: Can I have one of multiple breeds, or should I have at least 2 of each, or even more to make up my 8? I wanted them all to be different in appearance so my daughter could tell them apart and name them. Please let me know what you think, I appreciate your input. Thank you!

We are relatively new to chickens, too - just got our 10 in january. We have 5 ameraucanas, 2 barred rocks, 2 australorps, and 1 silver wyandotte. We just picked docile breeds and they get along great - just like they are sisters (well, we hope sisters!) I don't see any pairing based on breed. Hope this helps and good luck! Chickens are fun.